The CELTA Course Trainee Book

238 Pages·2007·66.93 MB·English

by  Scott Thornbury

Introduction 4 C language awareness
27 Introduction to language
The learners and their contexts
analysis 120
1 Who are the learners? 6 28 Tenseand aspect 124
2 Learners asindividuals 9 29 Meaning, form and use: the past 128
30 Expressing future meaning 132
Classroom teaching
31 Modality 136
3 Foreign language lesson 13 32 Conditionals and hypothetical
4 Classroom management 15 meaning 141
5 Presenting vocabulary 20 33 Language functions 145
6 Presenting grammar (1) 25 34 The noun phrase 149
Presenting grammar (2) 29 35 The sounds ofEnglish 154
Practisingnew language 34 36 Stress,rhythm and intonation 158
9 Error correction 39 37 Teachingpronunciation 162
10 Developing listening skills 43 38 Vocabulary 166
11 Developing reading skills 47 39 Textgrammar 170
12 Presenting language through
texts 52 D Professional development
13 Developing speaking skills 56 40 Professional development and
14 Developing writing skills 61 finding ajob 174
15 Integrating skills 65
Teaching practice
6 Lessonplanning: design and
Planning 177
staging 70
Post-teaching 181
7 Lessonplanning: defining aims 74
Reflection tasks 181
1 Alternative approaches tolesson
Journal tasks 183
design 79
:9 Planning ascheme ofwork 83 Classroom observation
..\tl.otivatinglearners 86
Observation tasks 185
Teachingdifferent levels 91
Englishfor SpecialPurposes 97 Tutorials and assignments
-:I eaching literacy 101 Tutorials 192
_ onitoring and assessing Written assignments 193
_earning 106
-- Resource file
-=-eachingexam classes III
C oosing and using teaching Warmers and fillers 197
- Briefguide to the Englishverb 201
- ources 115
Glossary 204
Further reading 214
Acknowledgements 215
'3
Introduction
CELTAstands for the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. CELTAis an initial
qualification forpeople with littleor no previous teaching experience, and isawarded by Cambridge
ESOL,part ofthe UniversityofCambridge.
Candidates can take CELTAfulltime (typicallyfour to fiveweeks), orpart time (froma fewmonths
tooverayear). Thereare fivemain units oflearning:
• learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context
• language analysisand awareness
• language skills:reading, listening, speakingand writing
• planning and resources fordifferentcontexts
• developing teaching skillsand professionalism
Candidates are assessed throughout the course, with no final examination. An external assessor,
appointed byCambridgeESOL,moderates each course.Thereare two components ofassessment:
• Teachingpractice:candidates teach foratotal ofsixhours, working with classesatatleasttwo
levelsofability.Assessmentisbasedonthe candidate's overallperformance atthe end ofthe six
hours.
• Written assignments: candidates complete four written assignments. Theassignments eachfocus
on one ofthe followingareas:adult learners; language systemsofEnglish;language skills;
classroomteaching.
Tobe awarded the certificate, candidates must pass both components. There are three pass grades:
Pass, PassB and PassA. APass isawarded to candidates who meet the criteriaforapassinboth areas.
APass B isawarded to candidates who meet the criteria for a pass in the written assignments and
who demonstrate a level of achievement significantlyabove that required for a pass in relation to
teaching practice. APassA isawarded to candidates who meet the criteria foraPass B award and, in
addition, demonstrate an awareness significantlyhigher than that required for a pass in relation to
planning for effective teaching. For more information about CELTA,visit the Cambridge ESOL
website:http://www.cambridgeesol.org.
The CELTA Courseisa coursebook for CELTAtrainees. It isdesigned to be used during course input
sessions (although some activitiesmay be setin advance ofsessionsor asfollow-up to sessions).The
course consistsof40 units covering the topicson theoSampleCELTAcourse timetable (accessibleon
the Cambridge ESOLwebsite), and extensive supplementary materiaL including advice on how to
get the most out ofteaching practice, abank ofclassroom observation tasks, and a resource filethat
includes aglossaryand recommendations forfurther reading.
The40units are dividedinto fourtopicareas:
• SectionA:Thelearners and their contexts
(Units1and 2)Learners' purposes, goals,expectations and learning styles
• SectionB:Classroomteaching
(Units3-26) Presenting language, developing language skills,planning, classroommanagement,
teaching differentlevels,Englishforspecialpurposes, monitoring and assessinglearning, choosing
and usingteaching resources
• SectionC:Languageanalysisand awareness
(Units27-39) Grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation
• SectionD:Professionaldevelopment
(Unit40)Howtogetajob and continue your professionaldevelopment
Eachunit comprisesanumber ofactivities,starting with awarm-up and concluding with reflection.
From these units and activities, course trainers willselect only those elements that meet the needs
and syllabus specificationsoftheir particular courses: it isnot expected that trainees will do allthe
units and all the activities in the book, nor that they will necessarily do the units in the order
presented inthe book.
The CELTA Course isnot only a coursebook: it also serves as an invaluable resource for post-course
review and reflection. Wehope that it enriches your experience ofthe CELTAcourse, and that the
CELTAcourse, in turn, opens the doorway to a fulfillingand worthwhile career in Englishlanguage
teaching.
1 Who are the learners?
rJ
Warm-up
Answerthesequestions aboutyoursecond-languagelearningexperience.Thenworkingroupsand
compareyouranswers.
1 What was the language that you learned? Didyou have achoice oflanguage? Ifso,why did
you choose that particular language?
2 What was your purpose forlearning? Wasit,for example, fortravel orbusiness, or simply
curiosity? Ordidyou have no real purpose?
3 Didyou teach yourself, have aprivate teacher, goto classesorstudy online? Ordidyou
simply pickitup byusing it?
4 Ifyou attended classes,what were your expectations? Were they met?
5 How motivated were you? What factors either raised orlowered your motivation?
6 What level ofproficiency didyou hope to achieve? Didyou achieve it?
7 Allin all,were you satisfied with the experience? Ifnot, what would you have done
differently?
rn
Learners' purposes
Readthese learners'profiles.IdentifytheirreasonsforlearningEnglishandanswerthe questions.
• NingWang isaChinese Mandarin speaker who isat afurther education collegein
Manchester, UK,doing acourse aspreparation forthe IELTSexamination, arequirement for
entry into aBritish university.
• Luciaisa 16-year-old Italian speaker who isstudying English asone ofher school subjects in
Bologna. Shealso attends an English classtwice aweek in alocallanguage school.
• Kazankiran isan asylum-seeker in Canada. She speaks Kurdish and Arabic and isattending
English classeswith aview to settling in Canada permanently.
• Maxim (45) isofRussian origin. Helivesand works in Australia and islearning English
through contact with hisworkmates.
• Soni Kimisfrom South Korea. Sheisenrolled on an online course in order to prepare fora
trip to the USAwith her husband in the near future.
• Carmen, who isBrazilian, isthe head ofmarketing in alarge exporting company. She attends
aone-to-one English classin SaoPaulo tohelp her in her business dealings, which are
mainly with Middl~ Eastern clients.
• MiesisaDutch student ofeconomics. Nearly"all ofhis classesatUtrecht University are
conducted in English, alanguage he started learning when he was six.
What are their reasons forlearning English? Usethese abbreviations:
EFL=English asaforeign language
ESL=English asasecond language
EIL=English asan international language
ESP=English forspecial (orspecific)purposes
EAP=English foracademic purposes
_ Which ofthe above learners isprobably bilingual in English and another language? Who is-
ormay one daybe - multilingual?
3 Whose firstlanguage islikely to contribute positively to their learning ofEnglish? Whose is
not? Why?
ho islearning English, asopposed to simply picking itup (oracquiring it)? What isthe
-r
difference?
- \ ho isprobably getting the most exposure to English, and who isgetting the least? Who are
already usersofEnglish, asopposed to simply learners?
ho islikelytobe the most motivated? Who the least?
hich ofthe above learners (ifany) most closelyfitsthe profile ofthe kind oflearner you are
e:>.:peetingto teach, and the kind ofsituation you are expecting to teach in?
ners' goals
t esestatements withfourofthe learnersinsectionB.
_ _ ow Imake many mistakes when Ispeak. But people understand me, and, look, I'm too
learn to speak English perfectly. Maybe Iwould liketo losemy strong accent, though.
~ '0
earn would be to speak English like anative speaker, fluently, and with anative
-eraccent, soIcan forget myoId lifeand begin anew lifehere.
rreed the basics:afew useful phrases to getby,and practice in understanding people,
__ = 'on't need to read or write. Besides, Idon't have much time.
o only specialised English but alsosocialEnglish for chatting, and Ineed tobe able to
::realy the kinds ofthings Idoin my work.
~ ersonthiscline.dependingontheirlanguagelearninggoals.
rn
Learners' expectations
Readwhat Ning Wang and Luciasaid about their English classes,and answer the questions.
1 What expectations did Ning Wang have?
2 Where did his expectations originate?
3 How realistic were his expectations?
4 Why isLucia happier than Ning Wang with an informal, group-centred approach?
5 How appropriate are the teaching methods in each case?
'At first Iwas very surprised that the teacher told uswe should
callhim byhis first name, Alan. Also, we didn't sit inrows, but In
ahalfcircle. Iwas not happy because we didn't usethe book' .
very much, andwe didn't study many grammar rules. Alan made
;+f\,US work ingroups, but Ididn't enjoy this because Iwas making
mistakes and noone corrected them. Alan explained that itwas
important to speak and not to worry about making mistakes. But
tV, /;1 doworry.lneed to get agoodmark inthe exam.'
'Ilike my evening class because itisnotas bigasthe class at
school, and it's more fun. Sometimes we playgames and listen
to songs. At school we do mainly grammar exercises, and
there's nochance to speak. Inthe evening classwe have
discussions ingroups, orwe write astory together. Another
difference isthat the teacher speaks to usonly inEnglish, but at
school the teacher often explains things inItalian.The only bad
in~heevel1ing class isthat some ofthe boys misbeha",e
andthe teacher doesn't know how to control them:'
wqrk in pairs.YVri!e questipns for~. diagnostic interview with the I.earnersinyour teaching practice class.
(Ifthis isnot possible, write questions that your traine.r. may beable to answer.) Findout about their
purposes, goals and expectations, andtheir previous language learning experiences.
Hold ihterviews with your learners:
Compare your learners' responses. What arethe implications forthe wayyou teach this group?
2 Learners as individuals
ork ingroups. Describe two very different learners. Compare their:
• personality
• previous educational background
• motivation
Learning style
There are avariety ofways ofdescribing learning style. One isto imagine two intersecting axes
or clines:astudial-experiential axis, and apassive-active axis,asin the following diagram:
studial
A B
passive active
C D
experiential
Astudiallearner isone who prefers more formal study (such asin classrooms) over learning by
experience (such as through chatting with native speakers). But, at the same time, a studial
learner may be either active or passive in the way they study. An activestudiallearner (TypeB),
for example, would be self-directed, actively working out rules from examples and capable of
working alone. Apassivestudiallearner (TypeA), on the other hand, relies more on the teacher,
likestobe told the rules, and islessconfident about taking initi~tive.
1 Describe the characteristics ofType Cand Dlearners. What kind of activities might they enjoy?
2 Write eight questions to useasadiagnostic test of learning style. Follow the example below.
1 Doyou likelearning and memorising rulesfrom grmpmar books?(Yes= TypeBlearner).
Multiple intelligences
Another way of viewing learning style is in terms of different kinds of intelligence. Some
intelligences that have been proposed are:
• verbal: the ability to use language in creative ways
• logical/mathematical: the ability forrationaL analytic thinking
• visual: the ability to form mental models and use mental imagery
• kinesthetic: the ability to express oneself through body movement
• musical: musical and rhythmic ability
• interpersonal: the ability to understand other people's feelings and wishes
• intrapersonal: the ability to'understand oneself
According to this view, the best learning opportunities are those that match the learner's most
developed intelligence. Thus, learners with a strong logical/mathematical intelligence would
benefit from problem-solving activities such as ones involving sorting sentences into different
categories and then working out rules.
Readthis activity and decide which intelligence itfavours.
1 Askforonestudenttovolunteerto beinterviewedaboutatopicofher
choice,andaskforavolunteerinterviewer.
2 Tellthe groupthat anytimeanyonewantstotakeoverasinterviewer,
theyjustgoupandtouchthecurrentinterviewerontheshoulder;they
thentakeoverasinterviewer.
Studentscanalsoreplacethe intervieweeinthe sameway.
Agroupmembercandothisatanytime.
3 Explainthat the ideaisto doitinaharmoniousway,sothat the interview
proceedssmoothly.
2 Suggest language learning activities that would favour these intelligences:
• visual intelligence
• kinesthetic intelligence
• musical intelligence
m
Learning strategies and learner training
watching aTVprogramme orafilminEnglish, I tryto sitnext tothose
tryto echo what the speakers are saying under my inclass who Iknow
breath, almost atthe same time they are saying it. liketo dopairwork.
to
Iwrite new words on Post-it notes and Istickthem on When I'mreading inEnglishand I
abigmap ofthe world Ihave inmystudy. Itryto make an come across aword Idon't know,
association with the word and the place onthe map. Itryto read onabit,to see ifthe
meaning comes clearer.
1 What aspects of language learning (such as grammar, vocabulary, etc.) does each strategy
target?
2 What learning principle does each one seem to exemplify? For example, Learner A: repetition
aidsmemory; production helpspronunciation.
2 Leamer training refers to training learners to make the most oftheir individual learning style,
and to adopt effective learning strategies.Learner training ideas are often integrated into
course book materials.
word prO~tHlc.ilAtio~ 3rlAt1I-t1I-IwAorrd e.'3' ~01A~
"'" /
~
com·mut·er /kg'mju:tgr/ noun
a personwho travIelsa long way to
work each day
de..fi~i tio~/ t1I-e.lA~i~3
Who isthe commuter in these sentences, Joao or Rose?
a Joao livesin London and works in London.
b Roselivesin Canterbury and works inLondon.
2 Where isthe stress on the word commuter?
3 How isitmarked inthe dictionary?
2 Check the meaning and pronunciation of new words inthe poem. Use adictionary or
the wordlist on page 138.
lip
3 C(II Listen to the poem. Isyour pronunciation correct?
4 Say the poem to another student.